Kids and Television: Is It Really THAT bad?

Picture me at my child's Well Child appointment. The doctor asks me if my daughter is watching more than an hour of television a day. I get all shifty eyed and say 'Oh, no, no no.' I am instantly feeling shameful on the inside, because yes, she DOES watch well over an hour most days. But honestly, the feeling of shame is fleeting. It's not like I'm letting her watch old episodes of Bratz all day long. She loves Dora and Diego, Leapfrog movies, Angelina Ballerina, and Baby TV shows. The only one I'm not a huge fan of is Angelina Ballerina. It's not educational at all and Angelina is kind of a whiny brat, but she loves the dancing in that, so it's a 'sometimes' show. Other than that, Ruby has learned a LOT from these shows.

Now picture me cleaning the house and Ruby is looking through a book of colors. 'Red,' she says. Nothing special, she's known all her colors for awhile now...then she whispers 'Rojo,' Uh, what? She has done that so many times now, saying things like 'Agua,' 'Hola' and 'Vamanos'. Of course I like to brag, I'm her mother. But seriously, I've got one smart little cookie. She's not quite yet three and can sing her ABC's, name all her colors, count to ten, and knows left, right, and straight.

Now don't misunderstand me here, I'm not saying park your kid's booty in front of the TV and they'll be smart! I try to make learning fun for my daughter...at bedtime I sing her the ABC's, in the car I ask her which way we should turn. I'm constantly asking her things and reinforcing her learning every day. And yes, watching these shows are a part of that. She loves it, and I see no harm in it. She recognizes SO MANY animals from watching Diego, it's hilarious. 'Mommy, das a Awillgator! Das a Giwaffe!'

Ruby watching 'Go Diego, Go!' on the Kindle Fire

When it comes to parenting, I pretty much go with the flow. I do what I think works best for my children and my family as a whole. I don't listen to statistics, I don't read books about it. If your kids don't watch a drop of TV, I applaud you, but I sure hope you're not putting judgement out on me for what I'm doing. I play with my kids, I read to them, teach them, and interact with them as much as I can. Sometimes I just need a break, and sometimes my daughter just wants to watch a show, and I'm okay with that.

What do you think? Do your kids watch TV? None at all? Let's get a discussion going, I'd love to hear your opinions, good or bad!

Twitter Parties, Toddlers, and SparkleCorn

Okay you guys...seriously....

The only reason I finally get to write this is because Netflix finally decided to work. Thank you Dora! What a day, what a day! I had a pre-teen today along with my near three year old and my eight month old. When it comes to stress, I am not very graceful with it, I was pretty frazzled more than once today. My internet has been shoddy and I missed out on a cool Twitter Party for an invite to the SheHeard party at BlogHer. So what's a girl to do?!

Let it go and write about a sparkly outfit, that's what! lol

At BlogHer (this super cool conference for bloggers that's NEXT WEEK) there's a party called SparkleCorn...I'm still carrying around some extra baby fluff (read: I'M FAT) so it was a little depressing when all these pretty sparkly dresses didn't fit me. Everyone dresses up in SOMETHING sparkly, tutus, dresses, tops, you name it! Coming in a plain white tee and jeans is not an option. I ended up finding something that I thought was pretty awesome, especially since the conference is in New York, I thought it was quite fitting!

It's fun, sparkly, fits loosely and it was only $5! I'll take it! It only took me two hours roaming around a store called Top 2 Bottom, but hey, I found it! It was the only one they had. It must be fate.

Can you even handle these pants? Leggings that have rhinestones only on the knee area?! I don't foresee myself ever wearing these again outside of this party, but I just had to do it. Too hilarious in my book!

I tried on many pairs of shoes, but ended up with just some super plain black sparkly flats. I thought I could handle some heels, but when I rolled my ankle (Completely sober, mind you) I thought oh helll, no.

Do you ever go out of your way to get something to wear for just one night? What has been your craziest party outfit?! Comment below, I want to hear! :) 

Love,

Kailee

Cottonelle Care Routine "Name It To Win It" Contest

Cottonelle has come out with a new two step routine involving using both their Cottonelle Ultra Comfort Care and Cottonelle Fresh Care Wipes. The problem? They don't have a name!!! YOU can help name this two step routine and have a chance at winning a year's supply of the routine for FREE!

Here's the name I chose:

'Round Trip' Haha, you like it?!

You can take a crack at it on the Cottonelle Facebook page here.

Good Luck!!!

Kailee

$100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!!!

My first giveaway, how about that?! Who likes free cash? I know I do! I got together with some UH-MAZING bloggers to bring you a giveaway for $100 Amazon gift card!!!

Let's give a big round of applause to:

Musings From A Stay At Home Mom

The Mama Report

Shopaholic Mommy

Only A Breath

NYC Single Mom

Read. Write. Mom!

philZENdia

Loose Screws And Terrible Twos

A Thrifty Geek

This Mama Loves Her Bargains

This giveaway is open Worldwide, 18+

Ends August 3, 2012 at 11:59 EST

a Rafflecopter giveaway

How Much Is Too Much? TMI On Facebook...

The other day my boyfriend's friend got into a small motorcycle accident. As predicted, he posted the self portrait of himself from his hospital bed, showcasing his bumps and bruises. What we all did not expect, though, and surely no one saw coming, was the picture he posted the next morning of his balls - Yup, his balls. I'm not sure if because they were bruised he figured it would be appropriate, or if he generally just thinks it's okay to show his balls to the entire Facebook feed, but it certainly gained the attention I'm sure he was trying to get. One comment read 'Really? Some people like to have their coffee first,'

This got me thinking. There is almost a daily occurrence of me cringing at someone's post on Facebook. Whether it's a 'sexy' self portrait (with the ever predictable caption 'just me...'), someone making a vague statement about someone else in a negative fashion, and not elaborating when asked what or whom they are talking about, or the wall bomb of photos with song lyrics or something having to do with how bad their relationship is.

What's the cutoff? Where do we stop and say 'Wow, maybe this isn't something I should be posting to my 300+ friends on Facebook, half of which aren't really my friends,' I'm not saying I'm completely innocent, there have been a few emo moments where I haven't thought about what I was saying, and then later regretted it. I just think we all need to take a few moments to think before we post. Maybe the world doesn't want to see you using the F word five times in one status update. MAYBE no one cares if you're pissed off at your friend and are using
Facebook to get back at them.

Facebook is the way most people connect on a daily basis. What you're putting out there is what other people are perceiving you to be. If you are constantly swearing, talking about your period, and how crappy your life is - Who is going to want to see you in real life?


What do YOU think? Do people go overboard on Facebook? Do you un-friend, or just hide someone who's annoying? Do you confront them? Let me know!


~Kailee

It Was Bound To Happen...

It was bound to happen at some point. I had been bitten by the blogging bug a few years back right after the birth of my daughter. I've always loved writing, and baking as well so it seemed like a perfect fit. As time has gone on, though, I feel the need to write about more than just baking. Sometimes I just want to talk about my day, things that have happened, being a mom, whatever. I feel like I'm missing out on so much in limiting my writing to just baking, that I've expanded my blogginess (yup, I said blogginess) to being a mom blogger as well. I hope to share many stories with you, reviews, giveaways, whatever I feel like! I'm taking this opportunity and running with it. So for now I bid adieu, but we will meet again, I'm sure! 

Love,

Kailee

Summertime Sweeties